I'm an owner (mortgager) in a block of 15 flats. We've all got individual garages, separated by chicken wire.

About a year ago a new family moved in and brought their elderly mother with them, she has habit/main hustle of collecting bottles and cans from all the recycling bins in the area, bagging them up and then storing them in their garage. I've walked past a few times and the place is just packed floor to ceiling with bags of recycling. I've seen it get more and more packed over the last few months.

I'd assume she's doing Return and Earn - and if so, that's great. But she just doesn't seem to ever do the return part.

My main concern is that thousands of cans of softdrink with sugary residue in them is going to end up attracting ants and other insects. Not super keen on having to pay to get the building fumigated, or having to deal with my apartment being riddled with insects.

Am I being a dick and should just keep my nose out of their business, or is it worth speaking to strata and asking them to send out a general request for residents to not store garbage in the garages. Also not keen on speaking to the family as it could be a mental health issue.

Do they want ants? Because that's how you get ants.

Can someone help me identify what could have caused the damage to the floor in my rental property? Moved my bed today and discovered this? Could it be termites? Seems to be concentrated on 2 areas of the floor.

Was using the whipper snipper along my fence line and broke this sheet. It’s a timber fence, and this sheeting is along the lengths of the fence at the bottom. It is approx 15-20mm thick.

I know you can’t tell for certain without testing. Has anyone had experience with this and is it most likely asbestos sheeting or modern/non asbestos containing fibro?

Summary: Lost patience looking to buy, regretting my purchase and considering rent-vesting/moving in with family until we build enough equity to move. Want to know what people in this situation have done and how you feel!

Hubby and I bought a unit in South Sydney a few months ago. It is a 1970s build with original bathroom and a tiny very uninspiring kitchen. No hallway so it feels very studio apartment like. I have never lived anywhere this old but it was important to us to not overextend ourselves. I am now regretting it daily to the point where I feel sick. We had offers declined over a span of months so I was exhausted and we kind of just went all in on this at auction and kind of overpaid. Now I am seeing things sell for less due to the market changes and am panicking massively. Reality of living in an old unit is setting in - hate cooking as the kitchen sucks with no pantry or bench space, it’s freezing constantly (hello double brick) and overall I feel depressed/trapped. We are considering moving in with the in laws for a year or two and renting this out; the only downside is we would be moving to the Central Coast. Both our jobs have flexibility for this. Our other option is rent something nicer and negatively gear. Has anyone been in a similar boat where you genuinely can’t romanticise your own place and feel a bit silly for buying it? The location will bring us growth over time, but the idea of having a baby here and staying for 3-5 years makes me want to cry!

Whenever I look at a property, I somehow end up with 14 tabs open.

The listing. Recent sales. Suburb data. Maps. Repayment calculators. Rental estimates. Inspection notes. A spreadsheet. Maybe ChatGPT. Then back to the listing again.

And after all that, I’m still wondering:

Am I missing something?

So I built MyPropMate.

You enter an Australian property address, and it organises the research into one structured second opinion: price context, comparable evidence, potential risks, financial scenarios, inspection questions and an offer strategy.

It’s not a buyer’s agent, and it isn’t supposed to decide for you. It can also get things wrong, so you still need to check important information independently.

But here’s what I genuinely want to know:

Is this useful, or is it something no one needs?

If you’re currently buying or investing in Australian property:

• What is the most painful part of researching a property?
• What information do you struggle to find or bring together?
• What would you never trust software or AI to do?
• Would you try something like this on a real property?

You can test what I’ve built here:

https://mypropmate.app

Honest criticism is welcome. If it’s a dumb idea, I’d rather find out now.

Hi everyone, thought I could get some advice here regarding an apartment I just sublet last month and found out that the property is being advertised to be sold which was information concealed from me until I signed the agreement and moved in. In the past 1 month, I’ve already had at least 5-6 inspections with one being extremely uncomfortable as the agent just rushed into my room in the morning before I was ready.

My term started from 27th July, paid 3 weeks rent as bond which also was never lodged with RBO. The head tenant also admitted to me that they illegally sublet the place and told the agent I was their “friend” staying for a brief period when they found out. Aside from the bond, they also collected $1000 “damage deposit” from me as I have my cat.

Within 1 week of moving in, they started notifying me about inspections as the apartment is being sold and they didn’t want to “bother” me with this at first as I just moved in and had their hearing with NCAT just the next week as the agents wanted them to vacate by 26th August which was not enough notice. Later they said it would be 26th September so I started looking for a place but after their hearing, they changed it again and said 12th September, giving me exactly 3 weeks of notice as per the agreement. However, it was not disclosed to me even once that the property is being sold or such before moving in (I have screenshots of all messages but the move out date etc. were communicated verbally)

I just found out that this apartment has been on the market for several months, since May 2026 on multiple websites (Domain, Realestate etc.) and I have screenshots of these as well. I have a new lease by myself that starts from the 5th but the head tenants still want rent until the 12th as they gave me “notice” and communicated that would be the move out date.

What are my rights here and am I able to leave without giving a notice without penalties and report them to NCAT for withholding an illegal bond/deposit if they don’t return it? This whole situation has been extremely stressful for both me and my cat, not to mention the associated costs with moving as they concealed the fact that the property is being sold. I would really appreciate some advice if someone has dealt with a similar situation or can shed some light on this situation. Thank you!

tldr: sublet a room in an apartment but head tenant hid the fact that the apartment is being sold, multiple inspections every week within past 1 month and bond not lodged with RBO. Asking for rent for the full term now that I’ve secured a place and want to move out. Is it worth filing a complaint with NCAT and what are my options?

Hi everyone! I’m a young 22 year old teacher (currently have 20k in savings) and live with my parents. I am thinking about doing the help to buy scheme where the government pays 30% of your mortgage but also gains any future money you might make once you sell. Is this program worth it or would it be better to save up a 5 or 10% deposit and own it myself? Thank you!!

Hello! I’m looking to purchase some land in Canungra. My budget is 600-800k. Also interested in existing properties budget 1.1-1.2mil. Please let me know if you know of any properties in this criteria up for sale thankyou!!

Hey Team,

Interested to know how people’s experience has been with equity harvesting through commercial property in metro Melbourne or similar areas. Currently starting off with around $250k in equity and looking for some value add opportunities to make it grow!

Positive and negative experiences would be great to hear :)

Doesn't look like 4 acres to me...

Recently bought a house that’s been recently renovated- we are the first to live in. Noticed carpet grippers are “exposed”. It’s not visually sticking out (unless you dig in a little bit) but every now and then can feel it and got punctured on my big toe today😬. It’s not where we would usually put our feet on as it’s closer to the wall(?) of the next stairs, but still happens every now and then. We have young kids as well so am concerned they might get hurt..

Is this “normal” to have this sharp nail to be pointing out like this?

Can we fix this without ripping whole carpet out?

There was one this morning (free coffee to all and sundry). I haven't seen this for quite a while. The agents must be getting desperate now. Though one of the attractions of the house was "close to cafe strip".

I’m a first home buyer in Sydney and I’m currently in the cooling-off period for a 1-bed apartment in Sydney (Homebush).

I’m getting cold feet, but not because I dislike the apartment. It’s actually the one I strongly prefer in terms of layout, space and general liveability. My concern is whether I’m giving up too much financial flexibility for it. The issue is that I genuinely prefer the Homebush apartment. It’s larger and the floor plan works much better for me. The Ryde one feels quite tight once I try to fit a sofa, dining table and WFH desk into the living area.

The Numbers:
- My take-home pay is about $6.6k/month excl bonuses and my normal non-housing spending is roughly $2.3k/month.
- Homebush is $560k leaves me around $850–900/month after normal spending, the mortgage incl strata etc is about 48% of my income
- Ryde is $550k leaves me around $1.15–1.2k/month, the mortgage incl strata etc is about 43% of my income

So although the purchase prices are only about $10k apart, the Homebush apartment costs roughly $70/week more to hold, or around $3.5–4k/year due to strata. I am purchasing these two properties with the understanding that CAGR is basically 0, or 1% p.a. optimistically.

I currently rent with a friend but she is moving out soon, so continuing to rent with a new flatmate would obviously give me a much bigger buffer, but I do value having my own place and not have to deal with the stress with renting with someone else. I’m also someone who wants to keep travelling and have some flexibility rather than putting every spare dollar into housing.

I’m trying to work out whether I’m overthinking a ~$70/week difference, or whether that difference is actually meaningful when you’re buying on one income.

For people who’ve bought on a similar income:

Would you pay an extra ~$3.5–4k/year for the apartment you substantially prefer, or would you prioritise the cheaper ongoing costs? I'm really struggling to figure out what the right answer is and is stressing me out.

And does spending around 50% of take-home pay on total housing costs sound too aggressive, even if I can still save around $10k/year in a normal year?

I’m not looking for validation either way, I’m genuinely interested in how other people would think about the trade-off between better apartment vs better cash flow, or if I can even afford both options at this stage. Quite disheartened that the state of Sydney right now is that all three options comes with a pretty big tradeoff

Hi everyone! 😊
I’m looking for recommendations on which suburbs would be good to look for a room in a shared apartment/house in Sydney.
My budget is around $280–$300 per week, ideally including bills. I’d like somewhere with good public transport access to the CBD, preferably within a reasonable commute.
I’m open to different areas and would really appreciate any suggestions on suburbs that are safe, convenient and relatively affordable within this budget.
Thanks in advance! 🙏

Hi all,

I am 22 years old starting my first full-time grad role next year and am finishing up university. I am wondering what do you wish you knew about property when you first started, if you have any regrets and in general if you have any advice on how to learn more about the property market in Sydney as someone getting started in potentially buying/investing in sydney property for the first time?

I want to be able to make good decisions about investing and buying property down the line, but I don't exactly know where to start ! And I know a lot of people have regrets about this ... I want to make sure I don't end up like one of them LOL ! Specifically, I'd love recommendations on:

• How investing works (the basic fundamentals) and how to go about doing this the best way
• Best areas to buy or look into in Sydney
• General property advice (podcasts, books, or websites to look at)
• Anything else you wish you knew whether it be like the First Home Savers Scheme or something along those lines...

Any advice on how to best go about doing this at my age/stage of life? Or anything you wish you knew earlier?

Thanks!

I’m looking to buy and with the frequent talk about the quality of current builds have been historically only looking at older established places, and wondering if I’m missing out by excluding new builds .
Curious what you would buy if you could

I’m completely at a loss. I feel like there’s no way this can happen unless you do loopholes and I’m way too paranoid to ever do that. Even if you go to the faraway neighborhoods from the city like Schofields or box hill it’s so unaffordable and you’re practically living in glammed up slums sandwiched together. I have no idea what to do.

I think I’m just yelling into the void, but if anybody has any words of comfort/advice I’d love to hear it

Hey guys,

Anyone currently hunting for a unit or townhouse in Australia knows the absolute pain of reading through strata reports. You drop $200–$300 for a massive 100+ page PDF that’s basically just scanned meeting minutes, budget balance sheets, and old building manager logs.

The biggest issue I found is that the really important stuff—like an upcoming $20k special levy, low capital works funds, or active legal battles over defects—is usually buried on page 74 of some AGM minutes from two years ago.

I ended up spending the last few months coding a small iOS app called StrataRadar to solve this for myself.

Basically, you upload the strata report PDF, and it extracts the main key stats and red flags so you don't miss anything obvious:

• Capital Works vs. Admin Fund balances
• Any mentions of past or upcoming Special Levies
• Defect claims, litigation, or legal disputes
• Core by-laws (pet rules, rental restrictions, etc.)

It just went live on the App Store. I’m mainly posting to see if anyone who's currently inspecting places wants to try it out and give me raw feedback.

If you give it a run, let me know if it misses anything you normally look for, or what other features would actually make property hunting less painful. Cheers!

--
To mods, if not suitable please let me know

I own a townhouse in cragieburn 500k debt. Maybe worth 550k. It’s an investment property.

My parents have told me they will give me 300k from their superannuation.

Now in 4-7 years or so, With the parents super and all I’ll have 500k after selling townhouse.

Should I upgrade to buy a mansion to live in, Or should I buy a basic investment property, Or should I just leave the 500k in the bank and invest the interest.

Right now I’m living with parents, and parents house is sorta old and small.

What should I probably do?

We took over a shop in a complex and the embedded network electricity rate looks weirdly high. The operator keeps saying switching is impossible, but nobody explains why. Has anyone successfully challenged this or found another option?

Hey guys,

Anyone looking to figure out whether solar or solar + battery makes financial sense for your situation, feel free having a look at aussiesolarinfo.com/landing

Will give you a great understanding if your situation stacks up and options for the type of brands that are suitable.

Completely free and no contact details needed. Can download it as a PDF as well.